Propane Cost???

[grsthegreat]

We just bought our place on 10 acres back in September. I put in a new HVAC system,heat pump with propane backup. I'm questioning myself now whether I did the right thing. My only other option is all electric but that will require a complete redo of our system.

theres nothing wrong with your setup... just make sure your storage tank is large enuf to last a few months of emergency use.

This propane scare is just another hit and miss thing. its really due to the companies shipping all the propane to china. The govt will crack down on that after this mess i hope.

personally i have a wood burning fireplace at my place and 20 acres of trees. thats my main emergency backup heat source.

 

[rekees4300]

Larsen co-op ....the price was $6.99/gallon

Crazy! Take your propane and shove it ... time to research alternatives if that happens here! Currently $1.99 thanks to 1 year contract. Next year will be higher for sure. Geo thermal looking better all the time.

 

[browny]

thats called price gouging.....id never frequent the place again

The lady from the company even said during the interview that they weren't making much money for selling it at $6.99/gallon....

 

[grsthegreat]

Crazy! Take your propane and shove it ... time to research alternatives if that happens here! Currently $1.99 thanks to 1 year contract. Next year will be higher for sure. Geo thermal looking better all the time.

well.. im not so sure about geothermal. I have one client that paid over $24,000 for a complete geothermal system....100;s and 100;s of feet of 6' deep trenches all over his 5 acres of land. He had this dream to be energy independent

Since this job ive heard from other about the same issues. Some have had to add geothermal heat pumps to the mix. I figure id make it about 40- 50 years on what i pay for propane to cost what this guy put into his system. My propane bills arnt that great, and its only bad 4 months out of the year.

I think if i had to do it all over again i WOULD install a pex tubed radient heat system in my house, fired by a gas boiler and a backup wood burning boiler. Its amazing how nice of heat and how inexpensive to operate these systems are. Again, the install cost can be rather high,, and there is alot of maint required.

I was hired to install two 240 volt water heaters to heat the geothermal mass tanks up enough so he could remove his jacket indoors during the winter. The system is a complete flop.

 

[grsthegreat]

The lady from the company even said during the interview that they weren't making much money for selling it at $6.99/gallon....

no, she's going to bairly make the payment on her new $250,000 motor coach traveling bus that they just bought haha

 

[aczlan]

I think if i had to do it all over again i WOULD install a pex tubed radient heat system in my house, fired by a gas boiler and a backup wood burning boiler. Its amazing how nice of heat and how inexpensive to operate these systems are.

Any experience with radiant tubes under a wood floor? We have a hardwood floor over a 3/4" OSB subfloor in the kitchen and I am wondering about the feasibility of adding radiant tubes under the floor to replace the baseboard that isn't throwing out enough heat.
I know about adding mixing valves and probbaly a separate circ pump for that area, but am wondering about any side effects of adding tubes under the floor.

Aaron Z

 

[grsthegreat]

Any experience with radiant tubes under a wood floor? We have a hardwood floor over a 3/4" OSB subfloor in the kitchen and I am wondering about the feasibility of adding radiant tubes under the floor to replace the baseboard that isn't throwing out enough heat.
I know about adding mixing valves and probbaly a separate circ pump for that area, but am wondering about any side effects of adding tubes under the floor.

Aaron Z

i have seen jobs where they have radiant heat under wood floors up here, but the tubes are generally encased in lightweight concrete subfloor (gypcrete or something similar). I dont know if there installed without this if the wood floor could buckle.

 

[browny]

no, she's going to bairly make the payment on her new $250,000 motor coach traveling bus that they just bought haha

Here's the link to the video I saw on the news....nobody knew the price until they arrived at the sign up area.

WBAY Videos - WBAY

 

[techman]

well.. im not so sure about geothermal. I have one client that paid over $24,000 for a complete geothermal system....100;s and 100;s of feet of 6' deep trenches all over his 5 acres of land. He had this dream to be energy independent

Since this job ive heard from other about the same issues. Some have had to add geothermal heat pumps to the mix. I figure id make it about 40- 50 years on what i pay for propane to cost what this guy put into his system. My propane bills arnt that great, and its only bad 4 months out of the year.

I think if i had to do it all over again i WOULD install a pex tubed radient heat system in my house, fired by a gas boiler and a backup wood burning boiler. Its amazing how nice of heat and how inexpensive to operate these systems are. Again, the install cost can be rather high,, and there is alot of maint required.

I was hired to install two 240 volt water heaters to heat the geothermal mass tanks up enough so he could remove his jacket indoors during the winter. The system is a complete flop.

Sounds like a bad/incompetent install. I have had geo for a number of years and have nothing but praise. Surprising is that with all of the cold this year (6+weeks of single digits/low teens) my go round loop temps are about 6-7 deg higher than normal for this time of year. My only explanation is a solid snow cover has helped insulate the ground from the low air temps.

paul

 

[RodSerling]

I just had 730 gallons dropped @ $2.27/gal, the drop before that was $1.99. I'm not bragging just letting you all know you're being gouged.

Any experience with radiant tubes under a wood floor? We have a hardwood floor over a 3/4" OSB subfloor in the kitchen and I am wondering about the feasibility of adding radiant tubes under the floor to replace the baseboard that isn't throwing out enough heat.
I know about adding mixing valves and probbaly a separate circ pump for that area, but am wondering about any side effects of adding tubes under the floor.

Aaron Z

I know someone that put that in and they are extremely disappointed. It does not radiate heat concrete encased.